CN rail shipments resume through Alberta: Update
Adds CN comment on start date in second paragraph.
Canadian National (CN) said it has resumed rail shipments through Jasper, Alberta, after wildfires last week forced the company to halt shipments through the area.
Rail operations were restarted on 26 July, CN said on Monday.
CN's rail line through the Jasper area moves sulfur and other goods from Alberta into British Columbia for export from Vancouver.
The number of wildfires fell to 129 on Monday, down by 46 from last week, according to the government of Alberta. Four communities in Alberta have been under evacuation notice since 25 July.
Fort McMurray, a major sulfur, crude and bitumen production site, was put under evacuation notice on 14 July. All fires at Fort McMurray are "being held", the provincial government said, meaning the fires are not anticipated to grow.
Jasper was put under evacuation notice on 22 July.
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CN rail shipments resume through Jasper, Alberta
CN rail shipments resume through Jasper, Alberta
Houston, 29 July (Argus) — Canadian National (CN) said today it has resumed rail shipments through Jasper, Alberta, after wildfires last week forced the company to halt shipments through the area. CN's rail line through the Jasper area moves sulfur and other goods from Alberta into British Columbia for export from Vancouver. The number of wildfires fell to 129 on Monday, down by 46 from last week, according to the government of Alberta. Four communities in Alberta have been under evacuation notice since 25 July. Fort McMurray, a major sulfur, crude and bitumen production site, was put under evacuation notice on 14 July. All fires at Fort McMurray are "being held", the provincial government said, meaning the fires are not anticipated to grow. Jasper was put under evacuation notice on 22 July. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Product demand surges in Germany after prices dip
Product demand surges in Germany after prices dip
Hamburg, 29 July (Argus) — Demand for heating oil and road fuels rose on the week in Germany after falling Ice gasoil futures caused domestic distillate prices to dip. The increase in demand, particularly on 22 July, was partly caused by the global IT problems on 19 July after a faulty update by cybersecurity company Crowdstrike. Loadings at Shell's 334,000 b/d Rhineland refinery and the Bayernoil consortium's 215,000 b/d Vohburg-Neustadt refinery were interrupted by the IT problem and some traders had to postpone trades until 22 July. Overall demand remains short of traders' expectations, however, which is reflected in the comparatively low storage levels in private heating oil tanks and industrial diesel tanks. Both are more than one percentage point below levels at this time last year, according to data from Argus MDX. The lower storage levels despite retreating prices have been partly attributed to the current holiday season, traders said. Domestic refining output continues to cover buying interest sufficiently, so Germany's diesel imports also remain low. Rising import margins and receding oversupply could make imports more profitable soon. Prices in western and southern Germany remain higher. Technical problems at the Rhineland and the Vohburg-Neustadt refineries had caused prices to surge earlier in July. The refineries' operators have since been able to fix the technical problems, which could soon lead to prices falling again. Gasoline is already being traded below the national average again in the south. By Natalie Mueller Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Mideast contagion risk increases
Mideast contagion risk increases
Dubai, 29 July (Argus) — The risk of Israel's war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza spreading into the wider Middle East region appeared to step up a notch at the weekend with Jerusalem saying it is preparing for fighting on its northern border with Lebanon. The move, announced by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), came after Israel pinned a 27 July rocket attack that killed 12 people in the Golan Heights on Lebanon-based Hezbollah — like Hamas, an Iran-backed group. The IDF said it is "greatly increasing its readiness for the next stage of fighting in the north." The White House also blamed Hezbollah for the strike, saying its was "their rocket, and launched from an area they control." Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since 8 October last year, a day after Hamas first attacked Israel. Those skirmishes had mostly targeted military sites, but the weekend strike was by far the deadliest on civilians inside Israeli territory. The prospect of violence spreading in the Middle East has been a concern, not least in Washington, since the war began between Hamas and Israel. On 13 April, Iran attacked Israel directly for the first time and Israel retaliated five days later. The Yemen-based Houthi militant group launched a campaign of targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea in what it said was a direct response to Israel's actions in Gaza, and recently directly hit central Tel Aviv with a drone. International crude markets did not react to the weekend's events. Ice Brent front-month crude was mostly unchanged today. Separately, Turkish President Erdogan Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 28 July increased his rhetoric against Israel, hinting at intervention in the Gaza conflict. This may put in doubt Ankara's involvement in any multinational post-war force in Gaza, a "day after" scenario the UAE and the US are attempting to work on. "We must be very strong so that Israel can't do these things to Palestine," Erdogan said in a televised speech in his hometown of Rize, where he enjoys overwhelming support. "Just as we entered Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to them," he said. "There is nothing we cannot do. Only we must be strong." Erdogan has adopted a more aggressive stance towards Israel since his AKP party's poor showing at municipal elections in March, with the Palestinian struggle for statehood being a key cause for his conservative Muslim support base. His comments were non-specific as to the nature of any potential Turkish involvement in Palestinian territories. In Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, Ankara provided military hardware — especially unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — and advisors that helped shape outcomes of both conflicts. Israel's foreign minister Israel Katz said Erdogan was following "in the footsteps of Saddam Hussein" with threats to attack Israel. "Just let him remember what happened there and how it ended," he said on X. US secretary of state Anthony Blinken on 28 July reiterated Washington's desire to prevent the conflict from escalating. "We don't want to see it spread," he said in Japan. "The best way to do that in a sustained way is to get the ceasefire in Gaza." By Bachar Halabi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s Queensland to fund SAF project, studies
Australia’s Queensland to fund SAF project, studies
Sydney, 29 July (Argus) — Australia's Queensland state government has earmarked around A$1.5mn ($980,000) to support two new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) proposals, while backing a multi-seed crushing and processing facility with separate funding. The government's Industry Partnership Program will contribute to Australian grains processing firm Energreen's multi-seed crushing and processing facility near the central Queensland cotton-growing town of Emerald, although a government spokeswoman declined to quantify the state's financial support for the project describing it as "commercial in confidence." The A$22mn plant plans to have capacity for 70,000 t/yr, with Energreen considering pongamia oil production in the longer term as a potential SAF feedstock. Queensland will also grant both private-sector domestic firm Wagner Sustainable Fuels and Australian-owned energy company Liquid Power A$760,000 each for feasibility studies to develop the case for investment in their own SAF proposals. Wagner announced in April a partnership with aircraft manufacturer Boeing Australia to develop a SAF blending facility at its Wellcamp Airport near the inland city of Toowoomba, west of state capital Brisbane. Liquid Power is aiming to develop sustainable fuels projects for hard to transition sectors totalling 250 megalitres, according to the firm. Australia's largest airline Qantas has a target of using 10pc SAF by 2030, or around 10,000 b/d, and is investing in a $200mn fund to accelerate global production . Australian bioenergy developer Jet Zero is emerging as the likeliest initial SAF project in Australia with its planned 102mn litres/yr SAF plant in north Queensland where significant feedstock supplies are located. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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